Copenhagen Fields

[Branwell]

For

 

Mark
The B Type bus was completely scratchbuilt in Plastikard, using an early photocopier for the advertisements and destinations and office staples for some of the metal bits.

The tram was also by Matthew and skids along on solid acetal 2mm scale wheels moulded by Denys Brownlee as replacements for Peco wheels. It is actually the second tram, as the original (at that stage only the lower saloon) was nicked at the first time we exhibited the layout at Horticultural Halls in the mid 80's. Every few years it needs a new set of wheels. It is magnetically coupled to a massive mechanism under the road (also made by Denys) that has five wheels: the large fifth wheel is in the middle, is rubber tyred and runs on a strip of emery paper. The gauge is equivalent to Irish broad gauge in 3/16th scale, with substantial sprung copper wiper pick ups running on the circular steel rail. The tram has one magnet (N) and the mechanism under the road has three (NSN) to centre the vehicle above it in the road. The road itself is thin PCB with the code 40 FB rail directly soldered to it. No one seems to notice that it only goes up and down the same length of track. It is usually the most reliable part of the layout and must have covered hundreds, if not thousands, of miles over the years. I have one of the Oxford diecast trams, but that is very disappointingly crude, especially at the top. Might be OK with very major surgery.

I converted the STL from a white metal kit (might have been a Beaver RT). The other buses are from solid clear resin castings, very subtly made by Ced Verdon. On the North end of York Way we have an indeterminate 1:400 bus headed south, sourced from architectural suppliers.

The tube was completely scratchbuilt by Stewart Hine using a power bogie with an armature from a Z gauge mechanism. This was replaced by a Japanese tram type mechanism this year (much cut down and modified) coincident with a major simplification of the underground layout. This has to be 110% reliable and previously it had not been. My four year old grandson had great fun 'driving' it at the last AP show!


Tim

 

That photo sums up for me what the hobby should be all about - wonderful modelling enjoyed by everybody and getting pleasure out of other people's enjoyment of your work.

[Southernboy]

Many thanks Tim for the detail: Instructive and above all, inspirational.

Edited December 28, 2015 by Southernboy

[CF MRC]

Pictures of the modified articulated Japanese tram mechanism for the tube. Basically, all of the top hamper was removed to fit into the loading gauge, copper tungsten weights were fitted over the bogies and some substantial wiper pickups installed (110% reliable). The wheel standards are irrelevant as there are no turnouts.

 

Tim

Edited December 28, 2015 by CF MRC

[CF MRC]

Kings Cross Goods Yard, Belle Isle South & Gasworks Tunnel: these are some late 1930 photos from the MRC archives of the bit we will be displaying of the new south end of the layout (south of the NLR viaduct) at Ally Pally (19-20th March). This will be under construction, along with a nice little nidus of other 2mm displays and layouts.

 

We now have all of the point work completed for KX Goods Yard (made by Keith Armes) and there will be quite a bit of the track laid by the time of the show (currently run out of Easitrack). We have been working out how to 'end' the layout as it goes through the back scene, roughing out with silhouettes of card to represent buildings such as the 'Derby Shed' or Midland Roundhouse and maybe suggestions of Top Shed itself yet to be worked out. Hopefully, Tom Knapp's Paget Christian Mission building will have arrived from San Francisco in the next couple of weeks.

 

Look forward to chatting to those of you that can make it to AP.

 

Tim

[A Murphy]

My goodness, just hitting the like button doesn't begin to cover this. The '30s photos are great. 2mm ft fine-scale allows so much 'space' when used like this (if you see what I mean...)

Brilliant, can't wait to see it.

 

Alastair M

[CF MRC]

Thanks Alastair. I think that with the Goods Yard looking more complete the layout will really 'come of age'.

 

Just had some pictures from Matthew Wald of three of the many offices and huts: inspectors, mess, lamps etc, that will populate the goods yard.

 

Tim

Edited February 27, 2016 by CF MRC

[garethashenden]

I see you finally got the anti-gravity system working...

[Branwell]

I see you finally got the anti-gravity system working...

 

Either that or those huts were built in Australia

[CF MRC]

They look upright on my screen, but photographed with an iDrone.

 

Tim

[Caley Jim]

And I thought Mathew was in Cornwall!

 

Some nice shots of 'Scotsman' coming through that area on the BBC this week!

 

Jim

[CF MRC]

More Copenhagen Fields structures from the Cornish hut emporium. The 1860s three compartment first wouldn't look out of place on a well wagon passing through Tucking Mill - with a suitably geriatric engine in front. One of the other sheds also now has a coal bunker. Matthew has found the prototype photo which would look the business on any layout.

 

Tom's Paget building is literally travelling at 30000 feet over the Atlantic as I write this. Let's hope that UK Customs don't open out the bottom of it for stashed drugs, as happened to a previous building he sent over!

 

Tim

Edited March 4, 2016 by CF MRC

[Caley Jim]

More Copenhagen Fields structures from the Cornish hut emporium. The 1860s three compartment first wouldn't look out of place on a well wagon passing through Tucking Mill - with a suitably geriatric engine in front. One of the other sheds also now has a coal bunker. Matthew has found the prototype photo which would look the business on any layout.

 

Tom's Paget building is literally travelling at 30000 feet over the Atlantic as I write this. Let's hope that UK Customs don't open out the bottom of it for stashed drugs, as happened to a previous building he sent over!

 

Tim

Has Cornwall declared UDI and affiliated itself with Oz?  Either that or I'm getting too many emails from my friend in Melbourne and my computer's inverting photos. (funnily enough the photos i get from him are inverted too!)

 

Puzzled of Lanark 

[CF MRC]

Jim, equally puzzled, as they appear upright on my screen!

 

Tim

[Nigelcliffe]

It is the evil empire Apple's doings.    They put orientation tags into images, which is sort of fine on a device which rotates around.  But those are not necessarily handled well by other software.

 

It can be sorted by nerds who edit the EXiF data in the image file. 

 

- Nigel

[Caley Jim]

It can be sorted by nerds who edit the EXiF data in the image file. 

 

[Matthew W]

It is the evil empire Apple's doings.    They put orientation tags into images, which is sort of fine on a device which rotates around.  But those are not necessarily handled well by other software.

 

It can be sorted by nerds who edit the EXiF data in the image file. 

 

- Nigel

To my amazement I appear to have mastered joining the forum and actually writing something on it !

 

Apologies for the upside down photos. Down yere in Cornwall we do use the old ways, not these yere dangy new EXIF data files. Do ee ave any simpler solution Nigel ? Like locking the rotating function on me iphone, praps ? Tim suggested takin the pictures standin on me ead in the first place but I ent too sure bout that - im an is fancy Lunnon ways !

 

The little brick huts are made of cardboard and brick paper, after I became fed up with trying to paint bricks. Quite teasy as it tends to go all bendy as you stick it together ! They are reinforced inside with balsa blocks to keep everything square (ish ). The slate roofs are Slaters 4mm plastic, and the downpipes are handy for concealing the joins in the paper.

 

The wooden hut is plastic and the roof is covered with tissue to simulate roofing felt.

 

Matthew

[Joseph_Pestell]

More Copenhagen Fields structures from the Cornish hut emporium. The 1860s three compartment first wouldn't look out of place on a well wagon passing through Tucking Mill - with a suitably geriatric engine in front. One of the other sheds also now has a coal bunker. Matthew has found the prototype photo which would look the business on any layout.

 

Tom's Paget building is literally travelling at 30000 feet over the Atlantic as I write this. Let's hope that UK Customs don't open out the bottom of it for stashed drugs, as happened to a previous building he sent over!

 

Tim

 

HMRC daft as ever. You wouldn't get much by way of drugs in a small 2mm scale building. You would model in 7mm scale at least.

[JohnBS]

To my amazement I appear to have mastered joining the forum and actually writing something on it !

 

Apologies for the upside down photos. Down yere in Cornwall we do use the old ways, not these yere dangy new EXIF data files. Do ee ave any simpler solution Nigel ? Like locking the rotating function on me iphone, praps ? Tim suggested takin the pictures standin on me ead in the first place but I ent too sure bout that - im an is fancy Lunnon ways !

 

Matthew

Matthew,

Welcome to the RMWeb world. Look forward to seeing photos of the huts planted in the Goods Yard.

John

[CF MRC]

Tom's building finally cleared customs and arrived late this afternoon. I've taken a couple of snaps of the building in place, before loosing the light (some CF baseboards are currently resident in my conservatory - hence the triffid attack). The Christian Mission has internal lighting of the main hall BTW. Our homemade brick styrene shows up well if you zoom in on the photos.

 

Also a picture of Matthew's sheds placed in the front yard of KX goods. Obviously they all need bedding in and suitable junk around them. All stuff to do at AP.

 

Tim

[StuartM]

That one impressive building, and I'd love to know the materials and techniques used

[CF MRC]

In correspondence with Tom this evening, I have just learnt that he used transfers (decals in American) to make the decorative brickwork on the front (which I will probably weather a bit). The whole building is made from brick styrene sheet using our mould, which gives very fine brickwork in 2mm. The zinc plate for this originally came from Dave Hammersley of Roxey Moukdings. The windows on the Randell’s Road side were individually built up in place (23 pieces per window, including separate glazing for top sash and bottom sash in different planes). The windows on each floor are a different height, and the height was determined from counting the bricks. Tom is writing it up for his local N scale magazine, so that should tell us more.

 

Another exceedingly close up photo below of the decorative brickwork and the transfer sheets in action.

Tim

Edited March 17, 2016 by CF MRC

[queensquare]

Superb stuff, 2mm structure modelling of the highest order. Those 3D printed windows are excellent and the transfer brickwork is extremely effective, not a technique I would have considered at all. Looking forward to seeing it at the weekend.

 

Jerry

[StuartM]

The brickwork does look very effective.

The 2mm in wills is so small as to be a waste of time, and the 4mm is oversize for our scale.

Interesting to note that the window arches are just decals overlaid on top of the plain brick.

I too look forward to seeing this in the skin at the weekend

[CF MRC]

Superb stuff, 2mm structure modelling of the highest order. Those 3D printed windows are excellent and the transfer brickwork is extremely effective, not a technique I would have considered at all. Looking forward to seeing it at the weekend.

Jerry

Jerry, I was mistaken with the 3D printed windows (I've modified the post).

Tom sent me this:

''The 3D printed windows did not work out. After printing several, the printer could never get the glazing perfectly flat – always some ribs in the glass from the 3D printing process. In the end, the windows on the Randell’s Road side were individually built up in place (23 pieces per window, including separate glazing for top sash and bottom sash in different planes). The windows on each floor are a different height, and the height was determined from counting the bricks".

 

All the more remarkable, methinks.

Tim

Edited March 17, 2016 by CF MRC

[StuartM]

I was lucky enough to see this in the flesh today and its even better in real life, an absolutely stunning piece of modelling.

Certainly something to aspire too.